American political activist, author, and attorney Ralph Nader has a net worth of $6 million. Between 1996 and 2008, Ralph Nader made four bids for the US presidency.
He was a strong supporter of environmental protection and consumer rights when he ran for office with the Green Party, and he continued to champion these causes as an independent.
Nader is a prolific writer who has written works like “Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile,” which became a New York Times bestseller.
The book “Unsafe at Any Speed,” in which Nader challenged the auto industry’s safety standards, catapulted him to fame. With the help of this book and Nader’s persistent lobbying for tougher auto safety regulations, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was passed with near-unanimous support in 1966.
But it wasn’t easy; Nader filed a lawsuit against GM when the company illegally monitored his activities and attempted to blackmail him.
Over the years, Ralph Nader became an activist for many other causes, including those related to the environment, corporate malfeasance, dishonest advertising, and even nuclear power. In addition, he has founded a large number of charities.
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What is Ralph Nader’s Net Worth?
| Net Worth: | $6 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Feb 27, 1934 (88 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Winsted |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Profession: | Lawyer, Politician, Author, Activist, Actor, Teacher |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
2000 Wealth Disclosure
Ralph issued a financial report in 2000 as part of his Presidential campaign estimating his net worth to be $3.5 million. After adjusting for inflation, that sum is equivalent to around $6 million in today’s values.
Nader has stated in interviews given after his financial situation has been made public that he gives out 80 percent of his annual income after taxes. His financial statement revealed that he had a debt-free Connecticut property worth between $200,000 and $300,000, as well as a stock portfolio and several market money funds.
For example, Nader disclosed that he earned $14 million in book royalties, interest income, television and speaking fees, and other sources between 1967 and 2000.
Revenue from “Unsafe at Any Speed”-related speaking engagements and book sales accounted for the lion’s share of that total.
For the previous 30 years, he had supposedly made between $200,000 and $300,000 annually from speaking fees, or between $5,000 and $15,000. Having a 25-minute television appearance on your resume will cost you $25,000.
Keep big money out of politics. Susan Sarandon net worth: $50 Mil. Tim Robbins: $60 Mil. 2000 Flashback: Sarandon & Robbins make it cool for college kids to back Ralph Nader while claiming Al Gore – already an accomplished, dedicated climate change activist – was the “same” as GW pic.twitter.com/9UUzkc1Ba6
— ChrissyG (@realchrissyg) February 23, 2020
Ralph Nader’s Early Life and Education.
In 1934, on February 27th, Ralph Nader was born to Lebanese immigrants Rose and Nathra in Winsted, Connecticut. His brother Shafeek passed away in 1986, and he is survived by sisters named Laura and Claire.
While growing up, Nader worked as a newspaper delivery boy for the local Register Citizen and occasionally helped out at his father’s restaurant. As a young man, he attended classes at the Gilbert School.
In addition to his work for the Nation and the Christian Science Monitor, Nader has also lectured at the University of Hartford and reported from far-flung locales like Chile and the Soviet Union. He moved to the nation’s capital in 1964 to work as an advisor for then-Assistant Labor Secretary Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Ralph Nader’s Rise to Fame.
After the publication of his nonfiction expose “Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile” in 1965, Nader became a household name. The book’s damning critique of the safety record of American auto manufacturers caused such a stir that General Motors illegally tapped Nader’s phone and hired prostitutes to entrap him, just to name a couple of the tactics they used to discredit him.
After winning his lawsuit against General Motors for invasion of privacy, Nader used the proceeds to establish the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was passed by Congress without opposition a year after “Unsafe at Any Speed” was published.
Nader’s Raiders
The following year, 1968, Nader used his newly acquired influence to enlist the help of seven law students to assess the FTC’s performance. The group of students, who became known as “Nader’s Raiders,” eventually wrote a report that prompted an inquiry into the FTC by the American Bar Association.
As a result, President Nixon made significant changes to consumer protection and antitrust laws. Afterward, Nader established the nonprofit Public Citizen to advocate for consumer rights.
Activism in the 70s and 80s
Nader was an active environmental activist in the 1970s. He established the Critical Mass Energy Project, which grew to become the largest national anti-nuclear organization in the country, and was a key figure in the anti-nuclear power movement.
Nader also maintained his involvement with Public Citizen, the organization he founded to promote consumer protection and government transparency. Thanks to his advocacy, several federal laws were passed, including the Freedom of Information Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Presidential Bids
In 1971, Nader was first approached by the New Party about running for president on their ticket. But he ultimately turned down the offer. In 1996, he ran for president for the first time seriously and was able to get on the ballot in 22 states thanks to the Green Party.
With 685,297 votes, Nader came in at #4 in the election. In 2000, he ran again, this time for the Green Party, and received 2,883,105 votes, placing third. It is widely believed that Nader’s presence in the race helped George W. Bush win.
For the third time, Nader ran for president in 2004, this time as an independent. His total vote count was 463,655, good for third place. In 2008, when he ran as an independent again, Nader received 738,475 votes and finished third.
Other Endeavors
Nader established the D.C. Library Renaissance Project and the Congressional Accountability Project, both of which work to improve public libraries in the nation’s capital.
After teaming up with Steve Skrovan and David Feldman to host the weekly “Ralph Nader Radio Hour” in 2014, he became widely known for his advocacy work in the political arena. Nader established the American Museum of Tort Law in his native Winsted the following year. To its credit, it is the first museum of its kind in the United States.
Author
Since “Unsafe at Any Speed” made him a household name in 1965, Nader has authored or co-written an abundance of books. A few examples of these books’ titles are “Action for a Change,” “You and Your Pension,” “Corporate Power in America,” “The Big Boys,” and “Crashing the Party.”
In 2009, Nader published “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!,” a novel in which he created fictional characters based on real-life billionaires like Ted Turner, Warren Buffett, and Grover Norquist. In 2016, he published another work of fiction, a collection of fables titled Animal Envy.
Ralph Nader’s Personal Life.
Nader is single at this time. He is somewhat of a recluse, as evidenced by his unassuming apartment and heavy reliance on public transportation. Nader has a reputation for wearing cheaply made outlet shop outfits that look sloppy on him.
The documentary “An Unreasonable Man,” directed by Steve Skrovan and Henriette Mantel in 2006, centers on Nader.
